U.S. Stocks Surge to New Highs Driven by NVIDIA and Tesla

U.S. stock markets continued their upward trajectory, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices reaching new all-time highs. The surge was driven by optimistic financial forecasts from Delta Air Lines and the remarkable market value growth of NVIDIA, a leading semiconductor company. By the close of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had risen by 192.34 points to 44,650.64, marking a 0.43% increase. The S&P 500 index also saw a 0.27% rise, while the Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 0.09% to 20,630.66, setting a new record for the second consecutive day.

NVIDIA's stock price increased by 0.75%, pushing its market value above 4 trillion dollars for the first time. This milestone makes NVIDIA the first publicly traded company to achieve such a valuation, surpassing the total market value of all British stocks. Compared to its low point in April, NVIDIA's stock price has risen by approximately 90%. Analysts predict that NVIDIA's market value could reach 5 trillion dollars within the next 18 months.

Tesla's stock price surged by 4.73%, following an announcement by the company. The company plans to expand its Robotaxi service to the San Francisco Bay Area, with an expected launch within "one to two months," pending regulatory approval. The company also mentioned plans to expand the service in Austin over the weekend.

Other major technology stocks experienced mixed results, with Apple rising by 0.6% and Google by 0.59%, while Microsoft fell by 0.4% and Meta by 0.76%. Netflix saw the most significant decline, dropping by 2.93%.

The bullish sentiment was further supported by positive outlooks from major investment banks. Goldman Sachs raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 index from 6,100 points to 6,600 points. JPMorgan Chase reported that investors are expected to return to the U.S. stock market starting in July, with potential inflows of 500 billion dollars in the second half of the year, driving the S&P 500 index to rise by 5% to 10% by the end of the year.

However, there are concerns that President Trump might be emboldened by the stock market's new highs and the passage of the budget, potentially leading to a more aggressive stance on tariffs than anticipated.

The U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending July 5th stood at 227,000, lower than the expected 235,000 and the previous week's revised figure of 232,000. This marks the fourth consecutive week of decline, reaching the lowest level in two months. However, the number of continuing jobless claims rose to 1.97 million, the highest since late 2021. This indicates that while employers are less inclined to lay off workers, those who are unemployed are facing greater challenges in finding new jobs.

Overall, the U.S. labor market data exceeded expectations, somewhat dampening market expectations for a rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The data showed that non-farm payrolls increased by 147,000 in June, far surpassing the expected 100,000. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, below the expected 4.3%, and wage growth was 3.7%, lower than the anticipated 3.9%.